Guilt is not nearly as complicated as you believe. Guilt is a long term, ancient bank account of should. You have been making deposits into this account from before your birth. Guilt firmly believes something should not happen or be: a crime, a thought, an omission, a presence, an amount, an event, a person, a race, a position. Both should NOT or should declare “This cannot be.” The truth is, it isn’t. All the terrible things you have done or not done, or someone else has done or not done that cause pain, hurt, and loss, make no sense. This discomfort of not making sense that you call guilt only shows you that your Loving Nature must be expressed and its awareness felt for you to experience peace and joy.

Rather than trying to “whip yourself into shape” ( or someone else for that matter) try noticing you have everything you need in this moment. Even if you have before you what seems an impossible task or terrible decision. Know that I AM with you in each and every moment. You may ask for guidance, direction, support and comfort in every moment. The more time you spend in expereincing the presence of Love the more you are able to recognize “not-love” as but a call for love.

Ask yourself “What quality of love can I extend to myself in this moment?”, “How can I

What quality of love?

express love, compassion and awareness to my own self in this moment?” As you extend love and awareness to your own self, so you will naturally extend this practice [of love and awareness] to those around you. I can hear your cry, “But what about the crimes, events, omissions, persons that DID harm and caused real pain??!”

Dearest One, there is always a cause and effect consequence for not extending the love that you are. You turn against yourself, you turn against your fellow man, you turn against truth. This is the reason that there are consequences, otherwise how would you begin to remember the truth about you? You see the effects of “not-love” demonstrated around you daily in life, in the news and in history. Look now upon the effects of Love: joy, peace, delight, compassion, strength, peace, miracles. Every time you choose to extend love you remind yourself of the truth about you.

While I’m not sure for me it’s feeling the enormity of it, what I often do feel about guilt is being powerless with it. It’s as if it’s part of my fiber by now. As you point out, it’s been with us beyond the timeline of what we as beings in a body actually can comprehend. That, for me makes me feel powerless.